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Untitled Article
raore , in your belief is involved an obligation ; a constraint is laid upon you to teach others what has been imparted to you . " Woe is me , ' * said the Apostle , "if I preach not the gospel . " And even though you may not possess " the truth" in the sentiments which you have adopted , yet the communication of it , leading to comparison with other principles , and to collision with other minds , may conduce to the discovery and extension of
right apprehensions ; whereas if every one had pleaded the difficulty you plead , there never could have been any discussion , and consequently truth would have remained unknown . And thus the human race , from the fear that they possessed not the truth , would for ever have deprived themselves of its blessings . On the contrary , the fearless yet candid advocacy of private opinions , has led to the furtherance of knowledge and the promotion of happiness ; and perseverance in the fearless yet candid advocacy of our
private opjnions , is the only method by which " the truth" can obtain its predicted prevalence , and the evils with which the world , in its present condition , is marred , can be effectually removed . It seems , then , that the voice of the gospel calls upon us to labour both for the furtherance of truth , and for the furtherance of righteousness . The two ought never to be disjoined ; they are united in the gospel ; they ought to be united in our apprehensions , in our language , in our affections , in our endeavours . The
distinction of speculative and practical principles may exi-t in common phraseology—it exists not in the Testament ; may serve to point a tirade against popular exertions , but cannot advance the real interests oY man . The truth only can make man free ; the whole truth , and nothing but the truth ; and he can know or feel but little of his creed who does not value his principles as a Unitarian Christian above all price . What is the meaning of that disparagement of Unitarianism which one so often meets with even from men
that ought to know and speak better > Unitarianism is to them " the truth ; " do they undervalue that ? It is the religion of Jesus ; ought that to be lightly thought and lightly spoken of ? But they would reply , " We value most highly his precepts and his example ; we do not like controversy / ' * And why not his doctrines too ? Is Christ divided ? Does the New Testament permit you to take what you please , and to leave what you please ? We iterate , Christ is " the life , " because he is the truth ; and without the truth you cannot be , no man can be , thoroughly " free . " But
of all errors , that appears to us among the greatest which represents Unitarianism as a system of speculations . It is no such thing . There is no tenet in it which is not intimately connected with practice , otherwise it could not be the gospel ; and for ourselves we venerate it chiefly because of its immediate bearing on the heart and life . The unity of God is essential to his paternity , and the paternity of the Creator is the creature ' s best solace and support , whilst it tends more than any other sentiment to unite men together m the bonds of a common brotherhood . lint we must not cite instances to
prove the assertion that the doctrines of Unitarianism are intimately blended with piety and benevolence . Those who have realized the former , will shew forth the latter , and know of a truth that it is a doctrine according to godliness . And we will add , that a full perception of the blessings conferred by Unitarian sentiments will prompt the desire to spread their influence . This
full perception can , perhaps , be hardly felt except by those who have been redeemed from the galling thraldom of some of the denominations which prevail around us . But let a man have fully felt what Calvinism teaches to be true , or have had a father or a brother worn down by anxiety , and brou ght to wish himself a brute rather than a man by reason of its heart-
Untitled Article
Unitarianism not inertly Speculative . 853
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 853, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/37/
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